Spontaneous
by mace921
Summary: The story of five completely different teenagers thrust into a life they don't want: The life of a ghoul. They're unsure about what to do with their new gifts, but when Aogiri takes an interest, that choice might be made for them. Will they stay united or will conflict tear them apart? Takes place before the Cochlea raid in the anime timeline. Updated every Saturday. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

"what am I looking at here?" Special Investigator Itsuki Marude asks, gazing at a world map in the CCG's command center. Red dots scatter the surface of Japan, pulsating readily. Looking across to other countries, Marude sees that Germany and China are beset with red dots, along with the United Kingdom.

"These are known ghoul hotspots, Special Investigator," replies Doctor Kouitsu Chigyou , head of Ghoul Identification Operations. Marude has never taken to him or his team. They're nothing but nerds that lounge at their desks and tap a few keys while the real investigators risk their lives. Brushing his black curtains off his face, Marude sighs impatiently.

"I can see that, Chigyou. What I don't see is why you've dragged me down here to look at something the students are taught at the academy."

"Well, we have had an interesting development," the doctor replies "do you remember the case of Yaku Tamashi, dubbed the 'spontaneous ghoul'?"

"Of course I do. That was a major occurrence. The poor man's body randomly generated Rc cells. It turned him into a ghoul in a matter of seconds. What does a two-year-old case have to do with my lunch hour?"

Chigyou opens his mouth to respond but is cut off by another voice from behind the two men. The Special Investigator turns to find a young scientist, her name escapes him, scrambling through the door.

"Sorry I'm late, Doctor Chigyou," she pants in a voice so delicate it sounded like it would shatter under pressure. "I completely lost track of time."

"that's quite alright, Midare." The doctor replies, still smiling "allow me to introduce you to Special Investigator Itskui Marude. He's taken time out of his busy schedule to see what we've found."

The girl, Midare, runs up to Marude and grasps his hand, pumping it up and down frantically.

"Wow! A real life Special Investigator! How exciting!" She gushes, her pale face turning slightly red. "I'm Investigator Rank Two Midare Katsura. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Marude, slightly taken aback by her forwardness, simply smiles and continues to shake. "Um... thanks. Now, Doctor Chigyou was telling me about this new case you've found."

"Ah, yes!" Katsura says, pushing her glasses back up her nose. "well, it isn't really a new case at all, but a repeat of an old one."

She skips over to a computer and begins typing, her slender fingers flying over the keys. In no time at all, the map has zoomed in on Japan, then on Tokyo itself. At the click of a key, the thousands of pulsing red dots disappear, replaced by only one blue dot, still heavily pulsating.

"This was the Rc signature of Yaku Tamashi when we picked it up two years ago. As you can see, it was completely different from any ghoul, half-ghoul or kakuja signature. Those three types follow a similar pattern so are easy to track, but the spontaneous ghoul housed a wildly different one."

"This still doesn't explain why you need me here." Marude says, still confused and lightly irritated by the scientists dancing around the point.

"Well, we were going to call for Chairman Washuu, but he was unavailable, so we decided on you instead." Chigyou smiles innocently.

"Riiiiight..." Marude growls, vexed at being downplayed, as usual, by that stuffed shirt Washuu "so get to the point already."

"Of course, sir," Katsura says, giving a salute. She then lowers her hand, looking thoroughly embarrassed. Moving swiftly on, the continues her lecture.

"We've made a worrying find in a routine global scan." Her fingers again begin to fly over the keyboard and the display zooms back out to a global view. Marude can still see the blue dot in Tokyo, but now it is joined by others- five blue dots sit over England, pulsing smugly right next to each other. Marude's eyes widen at the sight.

"T-There are more of them?" He stammers. "W-Who?"

"That's just it sir. We don't know yet" Katsura explains, still calm, even cheerful. It annoys him.

"Fine." He grunts "Keep on alert and notify me as soon as we know who these spontaneous ghouls are."

"Of course, Special Investigator" Chigyou confirms with a salute. Marude responds with something unintelligible about a meeting and walks out, slamming the door behind him.

"Strange... He seemed a little more uptight than usual," the doctor observes, still hearing the Special Investigator's booming footsteps down the hall. "he must be under a lot of stress."

"Haha. Aren't we all?" Katsura laughs "Can I be dismissed now, sir? I have to meet some friends." She flashes him a startling smile, showing all of her pearl-white teeth.

"Of course, Midare! I was about to head home anyway. I think the minions have everything covered for today. Have fun with your friends!" The Rank Two bows and rushes out, her black hair billowing behind her.

"That girl," Chigyou wonders "must have some important friends to rush off like that.

Katsura curses as her petite loafer steps on a glass bottle and crushes it, getting shards in the fabric. She pulls them out, majorly agitated. Why did they have to choose such horrid spots, like this warehouse, to meet?

She spies a figure in the rafters, crouching and staring intently at her.

"You'd better be paying for this!" She says, holding up the pierced shoe. "I loved these!"

"It's your own fault," Rabbit replies, dropping to the ground with unnerving silence. "Now, what's the status on the spontaneous ghouls?"

"I had to tell Marude, the old doctor insisted we tell somebody high up, but of course I held some things back."

"Like?"

"Like the names. The CCG thinks the names of these five new ghouls are unknown, but they're actually easy to find."

She sees no change from behind Rabbit's mask, no movement of his scruffy purple hair. He simply pulls his parka jacket closer to his body.

"Well? You scientists always take so long to get to the point. What are the names?"

Katsura produces a tablet from the folds of her windbreaker coat. With a few frantic taps, five images appear on the screen. A small noise comes from rabbit, possibly one of surprise.

"T-These are kids." He says, zooming in on each in turn. "We're gonna kidnap children?"

"Is that a problem?" Katsura asks, calmly inspecting her nails. "I thought you were going to any means to get these ghouls."

Scared of being made out as a coward, Rabbit straightens up, puffing out his chest slightly.

"Yeah. Of course we will." He says, and takes the tablet "what are their names?"

Katsura walks up next to him, pointing to each picture in turn.

"This blonde guy is Daniel Bernard Powell, fifteen years old. The tall girl is Alice Mcluggage, also fifteen. This guy with the black hair is Mason Canny, fifteen again. The girl with the long curly hair is Georgia Watson, fifteen and the chubby guy is Oliver Underhill, once again fifteen. They all attend the same school, which is interesting."

Nodding, Rabbit gives the tablet back to Katsura. "Make sure this gets to the rest of the Tree," he says and she nods. "You make a fine mole, Katsura. Perhaps you'll be part of Aogiri's inner circle someday."

"Thank you rabbit." She responds "I presume the inner circle is going to Manchester?"

"Naturally. We have to get these ghouls." Rabbit confirms, and with a swoop of his coat, he vanishes.


	2. Chapter 2

"Mason! MASON!" Dan shouts, sprinting down the A6 towards his best friend. Mason turns slowly, taking off his large black headphones. Turning the volume down, he waves and smiles and his friend's approaching body. This had become their routine now: every day Dan would be let out of his car on the side road just after Mason turned the corner, oblivious to anything but his blaring music. Dan would then run after him, trying with all his might to get his attention. This morning was extremely special though: Dan had had an exciting development in the night.

"Damn it, Mason! How many times have I told you not to turn your volume up full? And to WAIT FOR ME?" The blonde boy scolds him, lightly punching his raven-haired friend on the arm. Mason provides no resistance, opting to simply run a hand through his hair, messing it up even further.

"Yeah, sorry Dan. I keep forgetting." He says in his usual indifferent tone "I like your hair today. The new look suits you."

Dan gently touches his gelled, swept-back head. "You really think so? A lot of people didn't think so on Instagram."

"Maybe you shouldn't make a post that looks like an indie band's album cover then." Mason quips and is rewarded by another punch on the arm. He only laughs and wraps his headphones up as the two enter the school's front group. Dan suddenly remembers why he ran after Mason faster than usual today.

"Mason, we need to go somewhere private. I have something to tell you." He tells him as they walk through the quad.

"No can do, I'm afraid," Mason states "Olly AND Georgia have already texted me to meet them in their forms."

"Oh yeah. They told me as well. But this takes priority." A thought strikes him like thunder. "I'll just come with you. I can tell everyone then."

"Good idea." Mason says and the duo set off, Mason's hair bouncing up and down as he jump-walks across school. His is the walk of someone who has huge athletic ability but wants to keep it concealed. The two arrive at the Woodsmoor building at the far side of school, where the English, History and Classics classrooms are located. Walking up the stairs, Dan opens the door of Georgia's form and the two find the rest of their friends already gathered.

Olly sits on two chairs that almost brings him to the height of the others. Even with his ridiculously styled hair, he is at least half a foot shorter than everyone else. Alice stands next to him, not needing extra height as she is taller than them all, with Mason's hair reaching her forehead. On her right, sitting on a table to conceal her diminutive size, is Georgia. Mason takes one look at her and a torrent of sadness opens up inside him. He is still taken aback by her staggering beauty, standing stock-still as he drinks in her magnificent form. Her long, blonde hair cascades down her face, twirling inccessently like ribbons. It is different today, though. All the time Mason had known her, Georgia's hair had either been swept back and allowed to fall down her back or tied in a long ponytail. There had been one case of plaits, but they had all agreed never to talk about that again. However, half of Georgia's hair is made up differently, hanging down over the left side of her face. This frames her visible side quite wonderfully, and the sight makes Mason's heart flutter uncontrollably. Studying her face further, he finds himself thinking familiar thoughts, like his admiration for how beautiful she can look without a hint of make-up, a startling comparison to the girls in his year who drench themselves in the stuff but cannot hold a candle to her.

God, how did he let such a perfect girl go?

He is jolted back to the present by Alice's voice.

"Nice of you two to finally join us," she says in her usual passive-aggressive manner "We've been waiting for ages."

"Well, I'm sorry we didn't arrive exactly on time," Dan replies, again feeling his hair for signs of errors "But since We're all present, why are we delaying further?"

"Fine," Olly says, stretching in an attempt to make himself look taller "Last night I had an amazing experience, and it was shared by Georgia, from what I know"

The very statement makes Mason tense up. Are Olly and Georgia dating? Even worse, did they spend the night together? He resists the urge to pick the boy up and throttle him, but is determined to remain calm. He forces a laugh.

"What, did she join your furry pack?" He jokes, and Dan claps a hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh.

Olly's face tightens slightly, but his jubilant smile remains. The wolf furry rumours have long since subsided, but Olly takes them in good grace anyway.

"No, but the offer's still open," he retorts, then remembers what he set out to say. "Oh yeah! What happened last night! Well, I think it's easier if I just show you."

He shuts his eyes and concentrates, pudgy little hands squeezed into fists. After some laboured breathing, he finally lets out a huge sigh, not dissimilar to the one Mason himself let out when the exams finished. Following this, Olly opens his eyes to a gasping and shell-shocked group.

Both of the small boy's eyes have changed. Instead of the calm whit sclera of the former Olly, pitch-black circles now rest in his face. Inside them are bright, demonic red pupils, sending red spiderwebs rampaging across the sclera and continuing across his skin for a short while. His friends look on in horror as Olly only chuckles.

"Pretty cool, right?" He gushes, gesturing at his new feature. "I'm a full-blown ghoul!"

Dan backs away, eyes wide in his sweating face.

"I-I'm not the only one?" He stammers, wiping the sheets of perspiration from his forehead.

"What do you mean, Dan?" Alice enquires, peering at him "are you a ghoul too?"  
"Yeah... It happened last night..." He begins and staggers, only to be caught by Mason, who places him on a desk with almost no thought. Sighing, the boy continues.

"I was lying in bed when I started feeling sick. Like, really sick. So, I ran to the bathroom and puked up all of yesterday's food. It was disgusting... It just kept coming and coming..." He once again wipes his face and Mason looks at him with sympathy. He knew of his friend's plan to eat as much food as he could to counteract his prominent thinness, against his advice. When Dan composes himself, he carries on.

"Then I looked up at myself in the mirror, and..." Without warning, his eyes change too. The normally blue irises are flooded by the red, bloody material as his sclera transform. Mason stares, shocked that his best friend kept this from him, even if it is only for a day. Dan seems ashamed of his new form, blinking the ghoul eyes away almost as soon as they appear.

"I threw my food up too," Olly confirms, then a look of excitement crosses his face "go on Georgia. Show everybody what you showed me."

Blushing, Georgia looks away from the rest of the group, blushing. The sight gives Mason a strange fluttering in his stomach. He is unable to drag his gaze from her and hopes it isn't too obvious. Eventually, the girl straightens up and takes a breath. Without speaking, she too begins to change. However, unlike the others, only her left eye transforms, darkness engulfing it. At this, Mason utters an audible gasp. Georgia, a ghoul?! And a one-eyed ghoul at that, just like... him...

A smile spreads across the boy's face for the first time in weeks. His beloved Georgia is the same as him. One-eyed ghouls are more powerful than regular ones. Than Dan and Olly. If she knows about him, she would like him over them again. It's almost poetic.

He's jolted back to reality to Alice's face. The girl's eyes are also ghoul eyes by now, but there's something different. Her usually strong and determined face is stretched thin and is covered in small beads of sweat. Mason has quite a good idea of what's happening: the newly formed Rc cells in Alice's body are overwhelming it. It's probably to do with the lack of gluten in her diet. The ghoul expert in him knows that she'll adjust in time, but he imagines it must be tough on her. Staying silent while they excitedly discuss the experience, each one of them going through roughly the same thing, Olly finally asks the thing that has been playing on Mason's mind for some time.

"So, have any of you done a kagune yet?" He gushes, looking from one face to another quickly. The appendage exclusive to ghouls has always been a fascination to the boy, himself wanting nothing more than one of his own. However, Mason can tell by the look in his friend's eyes that he hasn't obtained one yet. He's answered by multiple head shakes and questioning looks at the other kids. Mason knows this would be the case, though. A ghoul cannot activate their kagune until at least a day after they consume their first sizable meal. Common ghoul knowledge.

Snapping out of his dream-like state, he realises the rest of his friends are staring at him, all except Georgia, who is trying to concentrate on her phone. A sharp stab of loneliness and loathing slices through him. Had he screwed things up so bad that she won't even acknowledge him? He wants to reach across the room right now, hold her and tell her all the things running through his head, but he can't. It's like his throat is wrapped in a vice and whenever he tries to speak, it tightens. Looking away, he realises that they're expecting him to say something, perhaps to tell of his own ghoulish experience. Instead, he poses a different question.

"You know we have to keep this quiet, right?" He asks, with a particular glance at Olly. They all know how the boy likes to talk to his "popular" "friends". The others follow suit and he holds up his hands.

"Hey! As if I'd tell anyone! I'm mixed up with this too, you know!" He exclaims, and they look away from him. Mason can see that Dan doesn't look convinced and shares the feeling with his best friend. Casting another eye over the group, Mason's gaze lingers a little longer on Georgia before the bell rings, signaling the start of morning school. Dan jumps, cursing under his breath.

"Gotta go, guys. I need to get to maths." He stammers, rushing out of the room to the other side of school. Olly follows suit, walking out of the room where Georgia and Alice stay. Mason slowly walks out, saying nothing and trying not to make his staring at Georgia too obvious. As he closes the door behind him, he finds Olly waiting for him outside the door. The two begin to walk together, and it isn't long before the gossip-mongering begins.

"What's the deal with you and Georgia, then?" Olly starts, staring deep into his friend's eyes. Mason tries to keep his composure in vain.

"What do you mean?" He asks, not meeting Olly's accusatory gaze. "No deal."

"Don't be like that!" Olly replies, sniffing out some gossip "You were staring at her all morning!"

"No, I wasn't!"

"You WERE, my friend. I mean, you usually stared at her a lot when you two were going out, but you swore to me that you'd forget about her."

Olly isn't the smartest of their friends, but even he can see through Mason's futile attempts at deception. He playfully shunts Mason, sending the tall boy into the wall with next to no resistance. He recovers and instantly pushes him back.

"What did you do that for?" He asks, and Olly grins.

"Because you lied to me! You told me you didn't have feelings for her anymore!" The small boy responds, tending to his enormous quiff.

"I don't! What are you on about?" Mason retaliates, his cheeks filling with colour "Me and Georgia are in the past. Done. It's ancient history." However, even as the words escape his mouth he knows he's convincing himself rather than Olly. His friend's eyes close in suspicion, but soon widen again.

"Ok... if you're sure..." He says, reaching up to pat Mason on the shoulder as they stop outside his form room "just come to me if you need any advice."

"I will, don't worry." Mason replies, discarding the fact that Olly has never had a serious girlfriend and the rumor circulating about his activities with a certain second year. The two say their goodbyes and Olly walks off, leaving Mason in form with the kids he doesn't like.

The rest of the day passes slowly. Mason daydreams through most of it, thinking of Georgia, his kagune, Georgia, the other kids, Georgia. When the bell finally rings for the end of the day, he bolts out of the door, ignoring Jake and Liam's conversation starters as they begin to pack up their maths equipment. Rushing to Fred's shed, he finds the rest of his friends waiting as per their lunchtime agreement. Alice is the first to see him, exhaling sharply.

"Late again! What's up with you today?" She asks, blowing a loose strand of hair away from her face. Mason shrugs and the group head off for Dan's house, the closest to school. They walk without hurry, looking like the least menacing gang of kids ever seen. They reach the crossroads between the main road and a backstreet, the former crowded by the state school kids.

The sight stops them cold and without speaking, they turn off the beaten track and into the alley, avoiding the potential jeers and name-calling. The alley is the epitome of dingy: trash lines every corner and flies every corner of that. Mason hears a faint rustling from his position at the back of the pack and turns around to investigate. Nothing. His gaze returns to the back of Georgia's head as he feels a little prick in his lower back.

It's barely anything, just a small tingle, until blackness clouds his vision and he crashes to the ground, his left arm outstretched. His eyes slip shut, briefly glimpsing a figure clad in a pure white robe before unconsciousness claims him. The figure is nothing, a shadow, but Mason can hear his words clear as day.

"Get them on the plane, Kaneki," It says, murky in the boy's mind "we leave in one hour"

With that, Mason's brain shuts down and he sinks into the darkness of the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

Dan awakens to a piercing hunger in his guts, like a chasm in his stomach, needing to be filled. Looking around the room, he sees nothing but four identical stone walls, stretching up almost as far as the eye can see. He casts his gaze down and finds himself bound to his wooden chair with tight metal bonds, three squeezing each arm, leg, his torso and one around his neck. Panic sinks its claws into him and he begins to struggle, pulling at the bonds with all his might until he runs out of energy and collapses back into his seat, being held bolt upright by his constraints. He tries to blow his hair out of his eyes in between pants but stops when he hears the voice behind him.

"That won't do you any good." it says, and the very chill of it crawls into Dan's brain, twisting it into horrible shapes "They're quinque steel."

Dan has heard of the metal derived from ghouls' kagune, the only thing that can pierce the creatures' skins and ultimately kill them. Suddenly he can feel the restraint of the bonds a lot more, feel them squeezing the very life out of him. He tries to turn his head and get a view of his kidnapper but cannot turn enough. He's rewarded by an equally cold hand on his shoulder. All he can see of it is the pale flesh and how it slowly turns into the sleeve of a spotless white robe. The voice sounds again. It is without person, without feature, a completely monotone drone that echoes off the cold, all-encompassing walls of this horrible place.

"Our organization has identified you and your friends attempting to conceal your ghoul movements," it continues "and we know that you five were not always ghouls, correct?"

Dan doesn't respond, keeping his lips shut tight against his unknown tormentor. This is a mistake, however, as the hand on his shoulder tightens its grip, squeezing and squeezing until the pressure is finally released and Dan's shoulder shatters.

The pain is indescribable, like a bull charging straight into the boy's body. Dan lets out a surprisingly high-pitched shriek, writhing crazily against his bonds. The fiery pain travels down into Dan's upper back and his scream increases in pitch. It's only after an eternity of hurt that the question appears in his mind.

"H-How?" He stammers, tears running down his sweat-drenched face. He again looks over at his ghoul-strengthened shoulder. "How did you do that?"

"You and your friends aren't the only ones who have secrets." The voice replies, and the boy hears a slow shuffle behind him. Suddenly there is total silence in the cell, save for Dan's laboured breathing. For a moment he braces himself for his assailant's return, an event he knows will not be pleasant. Then, after that initial fear, his muscles slowly unravel and the beads of sweat become slightly smaller. Grasping at what little knowledge he has of ghouls; the boy remembers that they can repair their bodies from injury. At this thought, a smile crosses Dan's face.

Gritting his teeth, Dan squeezes his eyes shut as he puts his last, fleeting effort into his wounded shoulder. The once searing pain has now given way to a dull throb, but the renewed stress the boy puts upon it invites the agony back in. His bones screech and grind like an overturned vehicle as they slowly, so slowly, start to knit together again. A strangled growl escapes his throat and his stomach screams at him in its hunger, but the boy's shoulder flings back into place with a deafening crack. Dan dares to rotate the joint with the little space he possesses and is rewarded with a painless sensation. Shaking his long blonde hair out of his eyes, he lets out a whoop of joy and releases his tension with a loud, long laugh.

"You think that helps you at all?"

The icy, monotone voice ends Dan's cries of triumph, making the boy try his hardest to look around the room, though still only seeing within his peripheral vision. Again, he tries to wriggle out of his bonds and again he is disappointed. However, his latest attempt is accompanied by a laugh from his captor. The very sound makes Dan's blood run cold; it is the laugh of a creature that has never known joy, never known anything but pain.

Dan hears a soft whoosh from above him and seconds later his captor drops from the ceiling. It is only now, when face to face with the ghoul who has tormented him, broken his bones, asked him questions he didn't know the answers to, that Dan knows he's dead.

The ghoul towers over him, taller than Dan by at least a head and a half. Its white hair clings to its head in a way that somehow makes Dan uneasy: a blend of formality and savagery. The boy's eyes widen when they fall upon the symbol on his robe: a bird, wings spread in freedom. He knows the symbol well, as does anyone who watches the news.

"You're Aogiri?" Dan asks fearfully, and the ghoul's silent nod signs his death warrant. He slumps in the chair, not an easy task, and begins to quietly whimper. This only seems to annoy his captor, however, as he grabs Dan by the hair. The ghoul punches the boy directly on the nose, provoking a spurt of blood and a coughing fit from him.

"Shut the hell up," he says in the flat drone "I haven't got time for you, so You're going to tell me how you and your friends got your powers, or I'm going to hurt you."

Dan hacks again and shakes his head, spitting blood on to the chequered floor.

"I don't... know..." He splutters, refusing to meet the ghoul's eyes, unnerved by the red irises that bore into his soul.

His kidnapper seems unfazed, his tone unchanged.

"Tight-lipped, huh?" He says "Have it your way"

The ghoul steps closer to Dan, leaning down into the boy's sweating, blood-streaked face

"Remember, you brought this on yourself" He says, bringing his closed fist backwards with a light chuckle. Dan instinctively flinches back, wondering what he could've done to deserve a punishment.

"What are you doing?" he dares

"You don't want to talk," the ghoul drones "So I'm making sure you never talk again. This was your decision, keep in mind"

He thrusts his hand through the air towards Dan's throat and the boy screams as his life is ripped from his body.


	4. Chapter 4

The cold walls of her dingy little cell swim into vision as she wakes, immediately struggling against her bonds.

"Wow, already? You're a strong one, alright," a young, insulated voice tells her. Alice calmly looks to the rafters to find a shadow staring back at her.

"You don't know the half of it" she replies, never lowering her gaze.

"Actually, I do," the shadow retorts, stepping off the rafters. It falls through the air with an unnerving mixture of grace and clumsiness, a mixture that can only lead to one thing: danger. Her stomach churns like butter when it drops to the floor, steeling herself for the harsh _snap_ of its legs on the black and white concrete. It doesn't come, however. The only noise the shadow emits is a soft grunt and immediately straightens its legs. One word flings itself into Alice's head. _Ghoul._ It invades her brain like a bad smell, causing her to involuntarily wrinkle her nose.

Wait.

It _is_ a bad smell.

After deducing it, Alice can easily trace the rank odour back to the shadow standing only seven or eight feet away from her. The stench of rotten fish pervades her being and she fights back a retch. She is too late, however, and her display draws a laugh from the shadow.

"So, you do smell me," it muses, its face still shrouded in darkness.

"What's it to you?" she retorts, making a valiant effort to keep her face stern and fight the creeping fear in her gut. The figure seems to become irritated at her calm and steps out of the shadows. Alice's eyes widen at the visage before her.

Her captor is a stout guy with scruffy purple hair falling to around his shoulders and a black mask covering the bottom half of his face. His purple eyes study her with an odd mixture of humour, interest and fear. Alice detects the apprehension that hides behind his cool demeanour and, as always, takes advantage of it. She leans close to her captor and bears her teeth, eyes wide and crazy. The young man furrows his eyebrows and takes a small step, not much more than a shuffle backwards, but it works. He's now afraid of her. Alice takes this opportunity and tries to lunge off the chair, only to find her arms bound behind her by thick iron cuffs. Cursing to herself, she turns her gaze back on the man, releasing her kakugan despite the hunger dwelling in her stomach. The whites of her eyes flood with a consuming blackness that swallows them whole, replacing them with a sinister uncertainty. Her captor is undeterred from her bloodthirsty visage, continuing with a task he is obviously uncomfortable doing.

"Listen, your fancy new eyes may impress your stupid English friends, but not me" he tells her, planting his hands firmly in the folds of his parka jacket "now you're gonna tell me how you turned yourselves into ghouls"

Despite the danger, Alice finds it in her to laugh. It's nothing, just a small chuckle, but her captor scowls in absolute hatred at her and stalks forward, his engineer's boots clunking on the polished marble floor.

"You think this is funny?" he growls "I could end you with a thought, so you better start talking."

"Look, I have no idea how we got turned into ghouls," Alice replies, her amused demeanour replaced by one of weariness "I woke up this morning, tried to eat breakfast but I threw up, and then the others said the same..." she trails off, looking up at the masked figure before her. He seems to think over her story for a moment, then the punch flies out of nowhere.

Alice gasps in surprise as her captor's fist flies out of his pocket and connects with her nose, so fast the usually perceptive girl doesn't even see it coming. She gags briefly, unable to catch her breath as the man leans close to her.

"You think I'd believe that for a second?" He snarls "You insult me!"

Alice responds in her usual way, of course, by launching her forehead straight into her captor's. The pain is staggering, but she pushes through it to witness him fall backwards, howling in pain. Warm blood drips down her face, turning her vision red. Through the haze she sees him scramble to his feet and wipe his own blood from the quickly-healing wound on his head. His hands clench into fists once more and he delivers a hail of blows to the tied-up girl. Each punch is an explosion of hurt, burning Alice to the core as she cries out in pure pain. As tough as she usually is, her body has become weak with hunger and the punches hurt more than they should. Still the punches keep coming, accompanied by an endless stream of abuse from the cloaked captor.

"You bitch!" he cries, slamming a fist straight into her gut. Alice doubles over, blood bubbling from her mouth in thick, violet streams. She splutters, not really making any sound.

"You made my head bleed!" He screams like a frightened child.

"It's okay, you have a thick skull anyway" Alice retorts, barely able to speak through her wheezing. Unfortunately, her trademark response only infuriates her captor more. He stands tall, his face a mask of murderous intent.

"That's it!" He roars and his body begins to change. From his upper back come two constructs – almost like wings – forming from a fine purple dust that floats around him in its shape. Alice easily recognises the ghoul's appendage as a kagune and a whole new wave of terror washes over her.

He's going to kill her.

A frenzy overtakes her and she madly struggles against her bonds, praying to break them. Her attempts are futile, however, and she finds herself cowering away from the monster before him. The ghoul's wings change yet again, becoming more solid, being overtaken with a diamond-like material that give them an almost majestic quality. The look in her captor's eyes unnerves her more than anything this ordeal has offered. They become windows into the ghoul's irrational and angry soul, letting her know that there is no point in trying to reason with him. Instead she coughs up another mound of blood, the thick liquid tainting her white shirt as his kagune begins to tremor, the ends of the wings morphing into long spikes. Alice shuts her eyes, waiting for the final blow that will end it from the one opponent she couldn't talk down with her insults and quips.

But it never comes.

Alice opens her eyes slightly to find herself empty in the large room. In the distance she can hear faint shouts and objections from who sounds like her captor, but as far as she can tell she's unhurt. From the kagune, anyway.

She leans back and breathes a sigh of relief, wondering about how her friends are doing.


	5. Chapter 5 - Interlude 1

"So, which one do you want, Kaneki?" Tatara asks, gesturing to the two unconscious boys. Kaneki looks over them carefully. One of them, the stick-thin one that looks as if a strong breeze would blow him over, begins to stir. The cloaked ghoul delivers a swift blow to his face and he falls still again. Losing his interest in the blonde boy, Kaneki points a pale, black-nailed finger at the one with the bushy black hair.

"That one" He states, and Tatara gives a strangled grunt – the closest he gets to a laugh.

"I thought you would." He says "He looks a lot like you, well, like you used to, anyway."

Kaneki nods and moves to pick the blue-eyed figure up, but Tatara puts a sturdy hand on his shoulder, stopping him

"If you're interrogating this one, I have a special task for you" He instructs him. Kaneki turns to his superior and is vaguely unsettled by the unusual fire in his eyes. The red half-mask that usually engulfs all emotion cannot absorb the sheer excitement in his eyes. He tries his hardest to keep his face neutral and indifferent as he asks what it is.

"Kaneki, you know these interrogations are a farce," He begins and Kaneki nods in agreement "we know the children have no idea how they turned into ghouls. We just took them here to make sure they don't think about making their new abilities. To scare them."

Kaneki pictures Eto dragging the small boy off, giggling with an indisputable air of hunger. The fate of the unconscious, chubby boy is sealed and it makes him sick.

"Yes, I suspected that" He says simply and Tatara continues

"Well, the other children all have above average Rc counts," He explains "They will all grow to become powerful ghouls, but this one is special." He gestures to Mason's body. Kaneki's eyebrows furrow as he tries to remember Katsura's briefing.

"He has a deformity in his cells, doesn't he?" He strains, and Tatara nods

"Indeed, he does. His kagune appears to be... unfinished" the masked ghoul tells him

"So, you want me to put him down?" Kaneki asks "He's really no use to anyone with a partial kagune."

Instead of agreeing with him, however, Tatara shakes his head at the young man, clearly exasperated

"Of course not, you fool" He scolds him and Kaneki bristles. he opens his mouth to speak, but Tatara isn't finished

"Mason's kagune possesses a unique trait that I've read about, but never seen in person before. The nerves that come together to form his kagune are unusually... Flexible." Kaneki doesn't say anything so he decides to go on. "Instead of forming a regular kagune time and again, like a regular ghoul does, this boy's nerves have the ability to form all four types"

Realization hits Kaneki like a ton of bricks. A child with the ability to control all four kagune?

"I think I understand now," he tells Tatara "You want me to recruit him"

"Indeed, I do," Tatara replies "He's a great source of power that I'd very much like to have on our side. We can't afford to lose him to the CCG"

"I assume I'll be responsible for him if he agrees, then?" Kaneki asks dryly. Tatara nods and Kaneki sighs. He reaches into one of his costume's pockets, pulling out his mask. He slides it on and zips up the mouth. Reaching for the boy, he shoulders the sleeping body and walks over to his interrogation room


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey"

Her eyes begin to open

"Hey, are you awake?"

She feels a soft pressure on her chest. Nothing huge, but definitely noticeable. Her eyelids slide back and a murky abyss greets her. Most of her vision is filled with a bright white, and as her vision focuses, the white morphs into an impeccably-kept suit. Travelling upwards, her eyes discover blonde curtains at the top of the suit and for a moment she thinks Dan's returned to his previous hairstyle, but this figure's eyes couldn't be more different.

Where Dan's eyes are deep blue – almost as blue as Mason's - this guy's are bright red. The tiny sclera and bloodshot irises make Georgia extremely nervous. The similarities to Dan, however, are startling. The white suit is exactly what Dan would wear, coupled with the hairstyle makes Georgia curse herself for thinking it is her friend.

"Are you okay?"

She's startled by a pinch on her nose and gasps slightly. The guy cocks his head to the side.

"Oh, good. I thought you were brain-dead or something" He says, and the pressure on her chest shifts slightly, alerting her to the fact that the man is SITTING ON HER CHEST. She begins to squirm, struggling against him. He gives a chuckle and flips off her chest, landing on both feet in front of her. She finally finds it in her to speak

"Are you a ghoul?" She asks, struggling to keep her voice level. Her captor nods rapidly, like a child.

"Yep," He confirms, grinning from ear to ear. "Always have been, but I didn't know until Boss Yamori told me."

"Who's Boss Yamori? Did he take me here?" She pries, trying to get as much information as possible from him. It backfires, however, and the man's eyes fill up with tears. He falls to his knees and curls into a ball, wailing like a baby. Tears fall around him like a river. The performance is so strange that it actually defuses Georgia's tension somewhat. After a few moments, however, she realises she has to press him more if she has any hope of getting out.

"Where is Boss Yamori now?" She presses and the man looks up at her, tear-filled eyes radiating pure anger.

"He's dead, that's where!" he roars, snapping his left index finger with his thumb. "The eyepatch killed him!"

Georgia remembers a news story she saw a few weeks ago, a raid on a ghoul prison by Aogiri led by a ghoul with an eyepatch mask

"I... See..." She says, looking at the floor. Silence reigns for a while, then she decides to change tack. "Do you know where my friends are?"

Her captor hesitates, then speaks "I know where your boyfriend is, but that's it"

Her eyes widen and she grits her teeth "Boyfriend?! What?!"

"The guy with black hair" He explains "You like him, right?"

"No! Of course not!" She defends herself and he raises his eyebrows.

"Really? You reached for each other before you fell asleep and he was muttering your name when he almost woke up"

"That doesn't mean anything! We're friends, that's it!" She's visibly angry now and she knows it. She also knows, however, that she has to get information out of this idiot. Calming herself down, she looks back over at the figure

"That's a nice suit," she tries, knowing he won't notice the change of subject. Sure enough, it only brings a wide smile to her captor's face. He looks down at his impeccably pressed suit and begins to fiddle with one of the buttons

"Thanks!" He beams "Boss Yamori made it for me! Before, you know, he died." Naki breaks off and looks away with an expression Georgia can only describe as guilt. She begins to say something but he cuts her off

"I was at the prison when it happened," he elaborates, drooping his head and sniffling slightly. Light tears fall from his face for a few seconds until he looks up. Georgia is surprised to see a huge smile on his face.

"It's fine now, though!" he shouts determinedly, only trying to convince himself. "I've forgiven Kaneki! It turns out he's actually a good guy! So good, in fact, he's teaching me how to read!"

Georgia doesn't know how to respond to this, so just nods. Naki isn't done, though

"You should learn forgiveness, too" He advises her. Georgia flinches as if struck. Forgiveness? She knew all about that, right? It's not like she hadn't asked Mason to be friends. It was his fault he never did anything about it

"I know I'm not a genius like Kaneki or Boss Yamori, but even I can see that you're mad at something that guy with the black hair did. You're probably right to be, but you should give him a second chance. He looks like he wants one" Naki says causally, picking at his nails. Georgia looks down, lost in thought. How was this ghoul so perceptive? And how did he have the balls to be giving her orders?! He's not even a person! She looks back up at him, rage in her eyes

"Listen, ghoul," She snaps, unable to hold it back any longer "You need to stay out of my life and stop presuming to know things about me or any of my friends. Now, untie me and shut the hell up!"

Naki stands still for a moment, seemingly frozen at the very notion of being quiet, but eventually blinks. Georgia instantly regrets her decision, initially mistaking the hurt in the ghoul's eyes as aggression. She tries to brace for an attack, but finds her stomach as empty as Mason's heart. Instead she just has to wait for the blow

But it never comes

Naki turns away from her, tears once again pricking the corners of his eyes

"I thought I could talk to you," he says "the others treat me like an idiot. Even Kaneki doesn't talk to me like he talks to Tatara. I thought you were different, but it seems not" walking to the door at the end of the room, he turns back for a last remark

"Oh, and the way you said 'ghoul' as an insult? You shouldn't. You're insulting yourself as well" he tells her. There's no scorn or malice in the remark. He's just stating simple facts. He walks out of the room, leaving Georgia alone with her questions and thoughts, with nothing to do but await the end.


	7. Chapter 7

Olly opens his eyes to the bandaged girl.

The bandaged girl laughs.

Olly opens his mouth.

The bandaged girl opens her mouth.

Olly screams.

It is over.


	8. Chapter 8

Mason jerks up to a cracking sound. He coughs and spits out a glob of mucus on the chequered floor. Rasping, he tries to keep his breathing under control as he looks at the tall, leather-clad figure before him.

"I think... I need some water..." He croaks, but the figure doesn't move.

"Not now," He says "We have some things to discuss"

Mason sighs disappointedly, as if he expects better of him.

"Okay, how about this?" He offers "You tell me where my friends are and I'll help you with whatever you're talking about"

The figure, his head still shrouded in shadows, cracks his index finger in a way that makes Mason's stomach churn.

"Not to worry, Georgia's very safe. I put her with Naki. There's no chance of him hurting her"

Despite his best efforts, Mason lets out a sigh of relief. He'd hoped against hope that Georgia would be okay that he doesn't question where the others are for a moment. Then the realisation hits him. He looks back at his captor

"And the rest?" He demands. The figure begins to twirl his thumbs

"Alice will be fine. Ayato might rough her up somewhat but I think she can take it. I'm slightly concerned with Daniel, though. Tatara is usually under control, but he can get aggressive if he doesn't get the right amount of attention"

"And Olly?"

"Oliver is... difficult. He's with Eto and she can get out of control often. I'll check on her after we've spoken. But as far as I know they're all alive"

Relief washes over Mason and he lets out the breath he'd been holding. Olly can hold his own, he'll be fine.

"Now, what did you want to talk about?" He asks

"Ah, yes," His captor begins "You're interested in ghouls, aren't you?"

Mason's eyes widen for a moment, then return to normal. He begins to wonder how they know about his feverant pursuit of knowledge about ghouls, but decides not to.

"Yeah, research is a good way to pass time" He replies and the figure nods

"I'll get right to the point," he says "we want you to join Aogiri."

Mason's eyes widen as everything goes numb. His captor's voice fades to a dull blur. Aogiri? Why? He's only been a ghoul for days, yet he's already being roped into the war between ghouls and investigators.

"Why?" He asks simply

"You have an extremely powerful kagune and it'd be wasted on you. You need to put it to good use." Eyepatch tells him, holding out a black-nailed hand "I can teach you to become stronger than any ghoul. You can protect your friends"

Become stronger? Mason becomes lost in thought once more. He's thought about the consequences to their power, the investigators that would surely come for them. The rest he isn't worried about, but Georgia would surely lose to some of the monsters at the CCG. If they had Aogiri watching over them, though, they'd never have to worry again. His eyes unglaze and he looks back at Eyepatch.

"Why did you join Aogiri?" he asks "I know you acted independently before your hair turned white, so why join up with terrorists?"

There is a long moment when the whole room holds its breath. Eventually, Eyepatch's hands move up to his mask. The black fingernails pull at the belts and clips and the black leather detaches from his face. Mason looks up at the young man, no older than twenty, who stares at him with a mixture of nostalgia and sadness.

"I... Also have people I need to protect" He mumbles, his right ghoul eye giving way to a large grey iris. Mason can only imagine what he hides under those huge eyes.

"After I joined Aogiri, I promised to get as strong as possible and make sure that nobody I care about comes to harm ever again"

Mason stays silent for the longest time, weighing up his options. He could stay in Japan and help Aogiri, but what would happen at home?

"This is a one-time option, Mason" Eyepatch says, tilting his head slightly "Take it or leave it"

The ghoul cracks his index finger, pushing it down with his thumb with a resounding crack that echoes around the cell. Mason looks down, then up directly into his captor's eyes.

"Okay," He says "I'll join if you can guarantee my friends' complete safety."

Eyepatch nods and holds out his hand "Thank you"

Mason takes it and stands up, looking his mentor in the eye

"So, what can I call you? Do you have a name apart from Eyepatch?"

"Yes. It's Ken Kaneki but I'd prefer it if you'd just use my alias"

"Fair enough"

"And what do I call you?" Eyepatch asks and Mason furrows his brow

"What? You know my name, don't you?" Mason replies and Eyepatch shakes his head

"Not your real name. Now you're a part of Aogiri you need an alias and a person with an interest in ghouls as large as yours has probably already thought about it. We'll go and see Uta about your mask soon, but We'll start with your name"

He's right, of course. Mason has spent hours trying to think of an amazing name and mask for his ghoul persona and he finally found the perfect one after an eternity of searching. He turns to Kaneki and gives a small smile.

"You can call me Shrike," He tells him, flashing him his left ghoul eye "Now, can I see the rest of my team?"

"Of course, Shrike" Kaneki leads him out of the cell and into a brightly lit floor. Looking around the circular, empty space, Mason sees four other doors that he can only assume hold his other friends. Kaneki stamps his foot on the floor once, hard, then turns to him.

"I want you to remember that they might try to scare you, but they won't hurt you as long as you're one of us, understand?"

Mason nods and swallows his fear as the doors open, with a different ghoul walking out of each one. The tall, white-haired ghoul with a bloodstained white robe approaches him directly, bending down to stare into his blue eyes with his piercing red ones.

"Who are you, then?" he asks in a completely deadpan voice

"Shrike. And you?" Mason replies, keeping his face straight.

"I'm Tatara"

"I'm Eto! Hi!" The bandaged girl says, waving at him. Mason waves back warily and she lets out a small burp, wipes her mouth and giggles

"Rabbit" The boy with purple hair mumbles and Kaneki nudges him, prompting a glare "Erm... Ayato"

"I'm Naki! What's it to ya?!" The man-child in the white suit screams

"What's the play now, Kaneki?" Eto asks and Kaneki cracks his fingers again

"As soon as Noro gets back we'll go to the mask shop. Shrike has a few ideas in mind" He replies and Mason nods, then glances back to Kaneki

"We had a deal, Kaneki" He says

"That we did," The ghoul nods at his comrades "Free the children"

At his request, the members of Aogiri turn back and return to the rooms they came out of. A few moments later Mason's friends are dragged out. The smile that dares to cross the boy's face fades to a look of horror as he sees the state of his fellow spontaneous ghouls.

"Guys? Are you okay?" He asks, eyes wide. Georgia turns to him and nods once.

"I'm fine. He didn't hurt me" She replies, but Mason isn't looking at her anymore, he runs over to the shivering, bloody mess that is his best friend

"Dan?! What did they do to you?!" He glares up at Tatara his eye engulfed in black "I'm going to kill you!"

Tatara scoffs slightly, turning away from him

"I'd like to see you try, boy"

Mason lunges towards him, moving to punch him but being held back by Kaneki

"Don't attempt it, Shrike. It's not worth the risk"

At this, Alice lifts her head and glances at him through her shrinking black eye "Shrike? What's that?"

"It's my alias" Mason explains, then looks at the floor "I've... Joined Aogiri"

Georgia gasps, looking at him with a mixture of disgust and confusion as Shrike turns away from them all, walking out of the room and out of their lives.


	9. Chapter 9

Georgia's eyes stay on Mason until he leaves the room, shutting the steel door behind him with a slam. A hole opens up inside her, quickly filled by unanswered questions than pull at her like a whirlpool. Why would he ever join up with Aogiri? They're the epitome of evil! How many brave investigators have they killed for no reason whatsoever? She has always seen Mason as a... Well, maybe not a nice person, but certainly not a terrorist! She starts to walk, ignoring the sticks of jelly that seem to have replaced her legs. As she passes the ghoul with the rabbit mask, however, his arm shoots out like a cannon, pinning her in place.

"Sorry," the gruff voice answers "But you're not going anywhere"

Georgia puts on a brave face and looks up into the deep, dark eyeholes of the towering figure. As she stares into those unforgiving points of blackness, she thinks she sees something, a glimmer of emotion, perhaps, but it passes by as soon as it arrives. Yet she still looks into them, batting down the feeling of impending doom rising inside her.

"I need to speak to Mason" she says, trying to put the arm down, only for it to fly back up

"Shrike isn't coming with you. He's with us now." the Rabbit gives her a slight push, forcing her back to her friends. It's only then that she truly sees them: Dan in hunched in the corner of the empty room, sobbing softly, Alice is glaring at anyone who'll look at her, and Olly is nowhere to be seen. She's about to open her mouth, say something to distract them from the gaping silence of the situation, but the tall man in the red half-mask beats her to it.

"You will each be escorted to an airport, where a flight back to Manchester awaits you," He tells them, his deep red eyes like portals to Hell "We will have representatives waiting for you there to take you home. Make up any excuse you like, but you did not meet us."

The speaker walks over to Alice and extends his hand, moving to grab her. Alice is faster, though, and starts walking before he can touch her.

"I can walk, thanks" she fires at him in her classic sarcastic voice. Suddenly, Georgia feels a vice grip her right arm, almost cutting off the circulation. She looks at it and follows it up to the Rabbit.

"Let's go, Watson" He orders, and starts to pull on Georgia's arm. The girl stands fast, though.

"I'm going nowhere until I can speak to Mason" She retorts, and the Rabbit lets out a sigh. Without uttering a word, she sees his other hand fly out of nowhere and she falls into the swirling embrace of sleep.

Sometime later, Georgia reawakens in the passenger seat of a car, moving fast down a crowded night street. She turns to her left to see a young man with striking purple hair sitting next to her. Her brow furrows at the sight.

"Who are you?" She asks, and the man responds with an annoyed grunt. He delves into his parka jacket and produces the Rabbit mask. Georgia nods in understanding.

"I didn't count on you waking up so early," He explains "We're not even at the airport" Georgia thinks he seems upset about it so decides to respond.

"I can pretend to be asleep, if you want" She offers, but he shakes his head.

"it's fine. That'd just be weird"

"True"

The two resume their previous positions, one looking out of each window. For a few moments there is nothing but a black pit of silence between them, then Georgia decides to speak again.

"So why did you join Aogiri?" She asks, trying to keep her voice as level as possible, without a hint of accusation. If she can get him talking, there's a slight chance he might say something she can report to the CCG when she gets home "There must be a reason"

She fears she's said the wrong thing, though, as the Rabbit's grip tightens on the steering wheel and he grimaces

"Why is that any of your business?" He snaps, and Georgia falls silent once more.

For another half-hour or so the two drive in silence, then they arrive at the Tokyo National Airport. As Rabbit pulls up outside the building, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a ticket

"Gate Two. Get moving" Her orders her, and she obediently steps out of the car. He doesn't wait for her to go inside, just for her to shut the door and step back. He pulls away from the building in with a squeal and drives away into the city. Georgia doesn't head into the airport, however. Instead, she turns on her heel and walks away in the opposite direction. It doesn't matter what those filthy ghouls have done to Mason, she knows that he doesn't belong with them, and she'll get him back.

Georgia heads out into the night to take on the ghoul world.


	10. Chapter 10

As Georgia falls to the floor, a strange feeling opens up in the pit of Alice's stomach. It's hard to describe exactly what it is, only that she doesn't like it. The Rabbit scoops her best friend up and hoists her over his shoulder, carrying her out of the room without a word. Alice's accusing eyes follow his tall, muscular figure. If he's going with Georgia, who's going with her? That question is answered for her, though, as the small girl wrapped in bandages steps forward and waves

"Hi, Alice!" she says and Alice uncertainly raises her hand in response. The girl beckons to her with a tiny finger and twirls round, beginning to walk out the same way Rabbit did. Alice begins to follow her, putting one foot in front of the other despite her growing feeling of unease. As she leaves the room, stepping into the long, cold corridor, the ghoul with red eyes walks in front of her, looking down the corridor then back at her.

"What did you do with him?" He asks the confused student

"Who?"

"Daniel. Where did he go?"

Alice looks back into the room where they all were, only to find the weeping figure of her friend gone. She turns back to the ghoul, a grimace on her face.

"Is this some kind of joke?" She asks accusingly "Cause if it is, it's not funny"

The ghoul just shakes his head and begins to walk away "I'll sound a general alert" he tells the girl, as casually as he would announce the time of day. The girl nods and continues walking, beckoning Alice along. As they make their way down the corridor, she turns back to look at her.

"You don't seem very concerned about Shrike, Alice"

Alice shrugs

"I'm not. I'm more worried about Georgia. The Rabbit guy's a dick"

The bandaged girl lets out a little giggle

"Yeah, but he won't hurt her. Trust me"

"It's slightly hard to do that when I don't even know who you are" Alice tries, hoping to get at least some information about her new companion. She doesn't think it'll work, but to her surprise the girl answers with another giggle

"You can call me Eto," she says "I already introduced myself to Olly"

Alice furrows her brow for a second, then realises that Olly wasn't with them

"Where is he, anyway?" She asks

"Oh, around" Eto replies absently, then resumes her over-enthusiastic flow of speech "But I wanna hear about you. Why do you hang around with those guys? You clearly don't really like any of them"

Alice looks at the ground, struggling to maintain her uninterested tone of voice

"It's just because of Georgia, really," She says "I want to make sure she's okay"

Eto nods "A noble gesture. You know, Mason has the highest Rc count of you five, but you're a close second. If you really want to make sure Georgia's safe, there's a spot in Aogiri for you"

Alice stops walking, suddenly feeling very cold. They want her? The feeling is strange, but not entirely unwelcome. Her face doesn't change and her voice remains flat, though.

"Maybe," she says with a shrug "I've just got some things to work out first"

Eto nods and carries on walking "I understand, but this offer won't be around forever"

Suddenly, the little girl turns and stares right at Alice, a eerie red glow under the bandages over her eyes.

"But if you aren't with us, you're against us" She warns, her voice suddenly extremely serious. Alice gulps and follows her around a corner, arriving at a large steel door. Eto gestures to it

"There you go," She instructs, her voice light and friendly again "In the alley out there you'll find a bag. It's got some money, food, and addresses of useful people you'll want to make friends with."

Alice looks down at her, confused "You're letting me go?"

"Yep. You're nowhere near the risk the others are. I know you won't tell anyone about this and I've got a feeling you don't want to go back to England"

"How did you know?"

Eto taps her head and giggles "Intuition. Now get going. We know how to get to you if we need you, so don't bother trying to find us"

Alice nods and heads for the door, pushing it open and emerging into a dark, gloomy alley. She looks back for a moment and Eto waves before slamming the door with a bang. She sighs, looking around her and finding a black duffle bag on the floor. Or rather, the bag calls to her. She doesn't know what's inside, but it's the most delicious, succulent aroma she's ever smelt. Running over to her gift, Alice tears it open, not bothering with the zip, and shrieks at the contents.

The bag is packed full of human flesh.

Sweating, Alice stays for away from the cursed container, ignoring her stomach. How could something so horrific smell so sweet? So, so sweet...

Her resistance crumbling for perhaps the first time ever, Alice pounces on the bag and grabs the first clump of meat, shoving it down her throat with no hesitation. So warm! Her mind goes blank as she gorges herself, her eyes flooding with blackness defined by the bright red veins. She's so engrossed in feeding that she barely even notices the sword that impales itself in her back.

Alice stops and stands, looking at the sword's tip as it rudely protrudes from her chest. She casually wipes the blood away from her chin and looks over her shoulder at the two men.

"Stay exactly where you are," The first investigator says "Don't move a muscle" Alice obeys, noticing that he's unarmed. It must've been his sword that he so impolitely threw into her, then.

"What's this all about, investigators?" She asks innocently as she feels the energy from her food come flooding back into her body, making her smile.

"Now, I'm not sure if things work this way back in England, ghoul," The second man says, his finger itching on the handle of his briefcase "But here we take you in for questioning and eventual execution. Or, if you prefer, we can just end this right here. What's your choice?"

Alice sighs, her confident exterior masking her inner worry. Without thinking, she reaches out with her mind and her kagune explodes from her lower back, two sparking tails that slide through the air as easily as a fish through water. They cut through the men's necks so quickly there is no blood, just the soft thump of heads hitting the floor. Remaining silent, Alice pulls the sword straight out of her, only wincing a tiny bit. She drops it, almost welcoming the clang when it hits the ground.

"So that's what I can do" She says to herself as she brings the blade-tipped tails round to face her, always pulsing with an eerie blue glow. She smiles and takes the duffle bag, running up the building and into the night.


End file.
